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Smoak reunites with former teammate

Smoak reunites with former teammate

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ARLINGTON -- Two former high school teammates reunited at the Major League level for the first time Wednesday night.

Rangers first baseman Justin Smoak and Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters, who played together at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, S.C., took the field together in Texas' 4-3 victory last night at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

"It was good. Obviously it's a dream come true for both of us," Smoak said. "That was great. It just makes you proud knowing that somebody you grew up with got here just like you did."

The two hadn't played on the same field since their high school days in 2004. Wieters elected to attend college at Georgia Tech while Smoak headed to the University of South Carolina.

Wieters was selected fifth overall by Baltimore in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, and Smoak followed as the 11th overall selection by Texas in 2008.

The two didn't do much in the early portion of the game, prompting Wieters to speak with Smoak as he came to bat later in the game.

"I think it was later on in the game, [Wieters] said: 'One of us has gotta do Goose Creek proud somehow,'" Smoak said. "He ended up getting a hit but we ended up winning the game."